President's Newsletter

Dear Juniata Community,

Spring break may be over, but spring is officially here to stay! As the days get longer and (a bit) warmer, the second half of the semester is in full swing, and campus is a busy and exciting place to be.

We are celebrating Juniata's Mock Trial Team, earning a bid to compete in the American Mock Trial Association's (AMTA) National Championship in Memphis, TN, next month. Under the leadership of Juniata's General Counsel, Attorney David Andrews '74, the team has competed in the National Playoffs each of their five years of existence. This marks the second year the team has received a bid for the championships.

Two recent grant announcements are yet more reason to celebrate! Juniata has received a $496,500 grant from the Sherman Fairchild Foundation to fund the creation of an environmental fluids lab within Brumbaugh Academic Center and a $1,199,981 grant from the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to fund a project, "Energizing STEM Teaching Across Rural Schools."

Finally, I am proud to welcome Derek A. James to our Juniata community. Derek will join us this summer as the new Dean of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion and as a member of our Senior Leadership Team. He comes to Juniata from Penn State University, where he was coordinator of multicultural programs within the College of Agricultural Sciences.

At Penn State, Derek has developed programming focused on equity, diversity, and inclusion and served as one of the College of Agricultural Sciences' subject matter experts. Derek earned a bachelor of science degree in biology from Grand Valley State University and a master of science degree in agricultural and extension education from Penn State University.

None of these celebratory moments would happen without your support! Thank you for all you do to make Juniata all it is today!

Warm regards,
President James A. Troha